Improvement in car-couplings



l. A. RICHARD.

Gar-Cnuplings.

Patented March 31,1874.

}U1\TITED STATES PATENT Onmon JOSEPH A. RICHARD, OF COLUMBIAVILLE, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR**COUPLING&

Specific ation forming par1; of Letters Patent N0. 149,250, dated March 31, 1874; appli:;ation filed Decomber 16, 18731 couple cars Wit-hont going hetween them, and

which will automatioally couple two oars 011 theircoming together. The invention oonsists 111 a revers1ble bnffer pivotecl in the jaws of a draw-bar, ancl having seoured to its base a stationzlrylink, which n1ay be bronght arouncl in front to oouple With an approaching oar fitted with either a siniilar conpling device o1 an ordinary draw-head, and in the arrangen1ent of certain devices for operating the pin in 'unconpling.

Figure l is a perspeotive view. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertioal seetion ab x x in Fig. 3, whioh is a horizontal se'otion on oho plane y y in Fig. 2, the buffer being reversed fron1 tl1e position shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an eleva tion of tl1e unooupling-lever a-nd its attack- 1nents from the roar.

In tl1e drawing, Arepresents a draw-bar, having two projeoting jaws, a a, at the front end, between whioh is inserted the base 0f an open-mouthed buft'er, B, whicl1 is pivoted therein by a pin, b, insnoh a manner that it oan be swnug in a horizontal plane. 'lhe upper half of said pin is square in seotion, ancl asses througl1 a sqnaroslot in saicl bufter, so that it 1nay be locke(l when projeoting fro1n tl1e drawhea-d; 01, by partially withdrawing the pin, the bnfl'er may be swung back between the jaws and obere locked, as seen in Fig. 3, in this case bringing to the frono a clevis, O, secured to tl1e base 0f said buffor by a transverse key, c. The buffer is slotted ab top ancl bottom, and in the upper s1ot is pivoted at its angle an invertecl L -shapecl ooupling-pin, d. YVhen the clevis O 0f an opposing oar, 01 an orclinary link properly sustained, enters the buffer it' pushes back the long arm of this pin until 1't passes by, when thepin drops int0 the olev'is or link, and thus couples the tw0 cars together.

T0 uncouple the cars, a plate, D, is transversely disposed 011 top of the draw-bar, t0 the rear side of which placo is pivoted tl1e lower end of a lever, E, f1'0111 whioh a oord o1 ohain, e, is led throngh an o]oening ab the fartl1er end 0f the plate, thenoe forward through suitable guides, and is hooked into an eyoat tl1e end of the short arm 0f the coupler. By throwing down tho lever, Which oan be done directly ab one side of the train, the cars will tl1ns be unoonplecl. T0 operato the lever from the other side of the train, a cord 01 ohain, f, is led fron1 said lever around tho rear end 0t' tho lato and through suitable guides t0 the othef end of said plate, whero it; oan easily be reaohed and pulled to throw down said lever; bat a preferable way is top1ovide a leaf-spri 11 g, g, set into a groove in oho plate near oho top, and having an offsot bent into it t0 catol1 the lever and hold it in nearly a vertioal osition. Tho oord fis tl1en fastened t0 ehe free encl of said spring, and by pulling' 011 ittho spring Will be d1awn away from tl1e lever, whioh will thon fall of its 0\1'11 weight, and thus unoouple the oars, whiol1 arrangemont is shown in Fig.

4. A oord, h, is atta-ohed to the levor, so that it oan be raised f1'0111 the fa-rther side of the train.

WVhat I olain1 as 1ny invention, and desire 170 secure by Letters Patent, is

'lhe oombinat-ion, with the draw-bar A, having plate D, of the buffer B, olevis O, ooupler d, l ever E, cords 01 ohains e f h, and spring g, all oonstruoted to operate substantially as (loseribed, for the pnrpose soc fo1th.

JOSEPH A. RICHARD. 

